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DEALING WITH DIFFICULT PEOPLE
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There was this guy that I worked with (I’ll call him Johnny) that just would not smile. He wouldn’t even say hello.
Of course, nobody liked him.
But I was determined to find something to like about this guy (everyone has something likeable about them.)
So, I walked up to him and said, “Good morning, Johnny.”
He just threw his nose up in the air and pretended not to see me. But I stood right in front of him in the middle of the hall.
“Good morning, Johnny,” this time a little louder, in case he didn’t hear me.
Now this must have amused our collegues, me being a mere 5’1″ looking up at this tall, slender man with his nose in the air, because they all began to peek out of their office doors to see who was going to win.
He must have noticed the stares, so he relunctantly replied with a half-hearted, “hello.”
I promptly moved out of his way and he continued about his day.
This standoff went on for several weeks. He must have realized that I wasn’t going to let him win because (much to my surprise) he said, “good morning,” to me first!!!
After a few weeks, I ventured into his cubicle. He was opening a package. It was a shipment from his publisher – the book he had authored had just arrived!!!
I asked him about the book, asked if I could look at it (it was really super) and asked if I could have an autographed copy. We chatted for another 15 minutes about his book until I had to report to my classroom.
Later that day I had coffee with another colleague.
“The whole campus is buzzing. Johnny doesn’t talk to anyone. What did you do to get him to talk?”
“I just found something to like about him.”
Some people are just plain ornery. That doesn’t mean you have to let them spoil your day. Make them a project. It will take time, but in the end you will make a new friend.
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RELATED POSTS
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DO YOU KNOW OF A POSITIVE BLOG THAT I CAN INCLUDE HERE?
LET ME KNOW ON FACEBOOK.
- Out of the Box (amsdaily.net)
- A Lunar New Year’s Story (amsdaily.net)
- Musings The Beauty of Nature (eof737.wordpress.com)
- Learning to Use a Perfect Afternoon (davidkanigan.com)
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- Why Complicate Life (davidkanigan.com)
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TAG, YOU’RE IT
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My new friend at zendictive (this is a super blog, you should subscribe) recently tagged me. The rules to this game are that I have to answer some questions about myself and then tag others.
Here are my answers:
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Describe yourself in 7 words. Silly, silly, silly, silly, silly, silly, silly.
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What keeps you up at night? Blog ideas. I keep a notebook on my nightstand.
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Who would you like to be? ME. No one else wants the job.
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What are you wearing right now? Contact lenses
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What scares you the most? Ann Coulter and people who never laugh.
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What is the best and worst of blogging? BEST: Meeting great people online. WORST: see #2
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What was the last website you visited? zendictive, of course
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What is the one thing you would change about yourself? My eyesight. See #4
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Slankets (blankets with sleeves) yes or no? I’ve always been in favor of sleeves. I voted for them in the last election.
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Describe the person who tagged you? Zendictive was introduced to me by my furry friend Rumpy Dog (another great blog to read.) Zendictive always has great parables that make you look at the world from a different perspective.
Now that I’ve been tagged, these are the folks that I have tagged:
BLACK HISTORY MONTH CONTEST:
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In honor of Black History Month, I will share with you the list of the 21 African-Americans who influenced me the most in addition to my regular blog posts.
The first person to guess who #1 will be will receive a FREE Purpose Driven Woman Boot Camp courtesy of Taquila Coleman (a $47 value.) Simply post your guess in the comments section. Include your Facebook page, web page or twitter name and I will give you a shout out – right or wrong.
14. Malcolm X
15. Sidney Poitier
16. Oprah Winfrey
17. Paul Laurence Dunbar
18. Maya Angelou
19. Langston Hughes
20. Nikki Giovanni
21. Marian Anderson
WHO DO YOU THINK WILL BE #1?
IF YOU ARE CORRECT, YOU WILL WIN A FREE PURPOSE DRIVEN WOMAN BOOT CAMP.
OK, I confess, I have no desire to be friends, or even be friendly, with difficult people. However, I have learned that it is important to not be in conflict with those people. Conflict with such people does not harm them, because they don’t care. It does eat my insides. I am practicing not letting problem people live rent-free in my head and in my gut.
Good point, Rumpy.
I like that. Problem people living rent free in your head.
Sometimes (like in a work situation) you have to deal with people like this. I had a friend from work explain it best – we have to work with them, not sleep with them.
You are back inside my head Saundra lol
I work with a guy like this and I later discover his weak spot to get him to open up…guess what it was?? His grand kids, so now I focus all of my attention on how his grand kids are doing while other people hate the site of him.
Great post…
It makes life so much easier at work when you find a way to reach out to grumpy people.
Thanks for the thumbs up. Don’t forget to respond to your tag You’re it LOL.
I loved this post, Saundra!! What a wonderful spirit you are!!
Interesting post… should be read by all difficult people, right?
Difficult people rarely recognize themselves as such. LOL
My sentiments exactly! LOL!